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We're looking for reports on tonight's Raw house show in Washington, DC and Smackdown show in Buffalo. The tour ends on Friday with a Raw show in Hartford and a Smackdown show in East Rutherford, NJ at the Izod Center as well tonight's TNA house show in Albany, NY at
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TNA also runs tonight headlined by Bobby Roode vs. Jeff Hardy for the TNA title, James Storm vs. Kurt Angle, A.J. Styles vs. Bully Ray, Austin Aries vs. Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen for the X title, Gail Kim vs. Mickie James for the Knockouts title, Matt Morgan vs Crimson and Garett Bischoff vs. Gunner. Ric Flair is also going to be on the weekend shows as the manager of Gunner. They also run Friday night in Poughkeepsie, NY at the Mid Hudson Civic Center.

UFC 141 is Friday night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem, Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone, Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks and a host of other fights, while the annual Japanese New Year's Eve show airs live on HDNet from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m. late Friday night and Saturday morning (10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Pacific time).

We've got our annual business year in review double issue of the Wrestling Observer out this week. The issue, along with a back issue from 1994, are up on the site today and each month there are approximately 10 issues, both old and new up.

We look at who the biggest money players were in 2011, with the biggest shows, the biggest headliners, the PPV numbers for every major WWE, UFC and boxing PPV, as well as where John Cena now ranks among the career drawing cards, who became draws, who fell out and more importantly, how the business changed over the past year.

We also look at the biggest PPV players of all-time, how PPV habits have changed, the difference between how boxing, MMA and wrestling sell and is PPV flourishing or fading.

We have a look at UFC on PPV for the year, as well as UFC at the gate. We look at whether this was an up year or a down year in PPV, ratings and big show attendance, and more, what the long-term patterns appear to be..

We also have a chart of the most talked about and big 100 stars of 2011, who is up, who is down, who is new, who is fading and more. We also look at some very interesting notes about popularity including big fish in a small pond vs. small fish in a big pond and which is better, value of the UFC title now as compared with a few years ago, as well as looking at the 2012 prospects for the various UFC belt holders.

We look at popularity in the U.S., Canada and worldwide and how each region differs, including what country is the one where you can tell the rising stars the fastest and who those potentially marketable stars are.

We also look at UFC vs. WWE around the world, and in a number of U.S. states including what direction that trends have gone over the past year. We look at the strongest cities for UFC and WWE as well as the countries with the most per-capita interest in WWE, UFC, boxing and even TNA.

The Wrestling Observer ranges from 25,000 to 40,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA all over the world.

Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sites and hasthe most complete look at the business as a whole anywhere. The Observer is now in its 29th year of being the leading insider pro wrestlingpublication in the world. The biggest and most influential names in the pro wrestling industry as well as the MMA industry, from bookers, topromoters to Hall of Fame wrestlers and fighters to the biggest current names, both on camera, and behind the scenes, along with thousands ofreaders in all 50 states and 30 countries subscribe. Many have subscribed as long as 20 years or more straight. They get the mostdetailed and inside coverage of what is going on all over the world and an accuracy from having the most inside sources that can't be found onthe web. Everyone from Wall Street to the major offices to the TV networks in U.S. and Japan turn to the Observer for what is going on inthe business. If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today. Just send your Visa or Master Card order with your name, address,phone number, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to
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or you can order by faxing that information to 408-244-3402. You can also subscribe via paypal at www.paypal.com and using the
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address or subscribe via check, cash or money order, as well as credit card, by mail, by sending to Wrestling Observer Newsletter, P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228.

We also have updates on a number of WWE injuries, the mystery man, WrestleMania and celebrities, changes in booking, WWE business notes from the past few weeks, PPV plans for 2012, Punk talks WWE announcing, as well as Steve Austin and Mania.

We look at Brock Lesnar's comeback, coming back from his health issue, age illness, surgery, and power as well as a look at UFC 141 and the Dream New Year's Eve events.

We also update a look at Ring of Honor stemming from the Final Battle show. We look at how the show did, frustrations with the product, the psychology of being a champion vs. being a challenger, the future of ROH, the effect of television on their business so far, the return of Kevin Steen and apparent direction for 2012, the New York crowd and how it affected the show and more.

We also have match-by-match coverage with star ratings, flying chairs, tables and long matches.

We also look at the WWE's traditional No. 1 house show of the year, the week after Christmas show in Madison Square Garden, including a lot of the extra things thrown out this yea.

We also look at the late Korean dictator Kim Jong II, and not only his connection with pro wrestling, but a look at the two most attended pro wrestling events of all-time in North Korea, which included Ric Flair, Scott Norton, Muhammad Ali, Chris Benoit, Eric Bischoff and others. We look at what the reaction was like at the time including from the worldwide media.

We also have the history of the Japanese MVP award.

We also look at the question of the fastest UFC fight in history and the debate over what should be he record.

We also look back in history on a 70s star entering the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stllwater, OK this coming year, and go back at looking at someone who was a famous celebrity amateur wrestler who later became a pro, and other great athletes that Verne Gagne tried to recruit to be his top stars in the 70s, who made it and who didn't.

We also have the final category list for the 2011 Wrestling Observer Awards with the updated ballot.

We also have ratings for all the national shows for the past week, who is and isn't watching and how each segment on the show gained or lost audience. We also have the same for Impact including the change in the makeup of the viewership this week from normal levels and why.

We also have our regular weekly features with results of all the major arena events around the world, as well as all the major TV showreviews.

Also in this week's issue:

--Promotion leaving their fan base furious at recent finishes

--Top booker wrestler in Mexico talks rise of WWE in that country

--Notes on TNA wrestlers who have been appearing in AAA

--Japanese star looks like they are getting cut

--New Japan's last shows of the year

--More on the reaction in Japan to the death of Umanosuke Ueda

--Why major news commentators talked about Ueda's fame as a symbol of the country at large

--Ueda's most famous singles match

--His moving from company to company

--Death of a wrestling trainee

--Hall of Famer needs back surgery

--Sean Waltman's arrest

--WWE's big year beginning shows featuring some former WWE wrestlers

--What former WWE wrestler can now command $25,000 per appearance

--Former TNA Knockout member now on a reality show

--Update on Travis Tomko after his arrest

--Corporal Robinson talks about why he had to retire from wrestling

--Another former Olympian going into pro wrestling

--Notes on some books that will be released on pro wrestling in 2012

--Former well known wrestling television announcer inducted into a college Hall of Fame

--Why Karen Jarrett was fired by TNA

--Upcoming TNA PPV notes

--A look in depth at the TNA satellite promotion India, its prospects and angles

--Notes on ticket scalping at WWE and UFC shows

--Update on Pride fights airing on U.S. television

--Lots of new UFC fights

--Notes on some of the Bellator tournaments for the new season in March

--Fighter paralyzed trying a move

--Bas Rutten picks his 2011 awards

--Legends from the past return to fighting the past few weeks

New subscribers ordering 24 or 40 issues have to let us know what major story (ies) of the past 11 years you are most interested inand we'll send the issue with the best coverage of that story. We've got coverage of every major PPV event and world wide spectacular, every major star switching promotions, histories of companies like FMW, Rings and New Japan, retirement and obit issues of every major star who fits into those descriptions over the past 11 years, as well as our biggest issue every year, the annual awards issue, and our most controversial issue of every year, the Hall of Fame issue. Our most requested issues in our history are:

*November 17, 1997 (full details of everything leading to the most famous wrestling match finish of modern times at the Survivor Seriesplus a history of in-ring double-crosses)

*December 21, 1998 (the complete Vince McMahon-Bret Hart conversation right before the Survivor Series match so you'll know exactly what was said--the conversation played in edited form both on the inaugural broadcast of Confidential as well as in Wrestling with Shadows, but everything that was said between the two about the match that was going to take place that same night)

*April 21, 2003 (history of WWF continues with the expansion nationally, the death of the regional territories and the rise of HulkHogan)

*May 12, 2003 (The life and death of Elizabeth, and the rise of fall of Lex Luger)

*June 9, 2003 (Part 1 of history of WWF vs. WCW wars and what many say was the greatest year in U.S. wrestling; plus a look at Fred Blassie)

*June 16, 2003 (Freddie Blassie through the eyes of his biggest rivals and friends)

*July 28, 2003 (Part 2 of the history of the WWF vs. WCW war and the plans to make new superstars in the early 90s, what happened, and the night where the three biggest wrestling companies in the world combined for a joint show and what happened)

*August 25, 2003 (2003 Hall of Fame issue with huge profiles on the controversial career of Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit as well ashistorical features on Earl Caddock and Francisco Flores)

*September 22, 2003 (Part 3 of the history of the WWF vs WCW war with the seeds that caused the collapse of the industry in the 90s,Zahorian trial, Gulf War controversy, Flair leaves WCW while holding world title and much more)

*October 27, 2003 (The fascinating life of Stu Hart plus the story of Road Warrior Hawk)

*February 23, 2004 (History of Guerrero family with Eddy's win over Brock Lesnar)

*March 1, 2004 (History of WWF continues with the period that brought the company down in early 1992, the mistakes, the real stories and how the business changed)

*March 8, 2004 (History of Wrestlemania, its greatest matches and best and worst shows as voted both by wrestlers and non-wrestlers andWrestlemania history books)

*July 5, 2004 (A look behind the scenes and Ric Flair's book and his background with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan)

*July 12, 2004 (A look at more on Ric Flair's book and his comments on Bruno Sammartino, Bret Hart and Mick Foley)

*August 16, 2004 (History of the Olympians in pro wrestling)

*August 23, 2004 (2004 Hall of Fame issue and biggest issue of the year with huge profiles on Kazushi Sakuraba, Undertaker, Bob Backlund,Masahiro Chono, Ultimo Dragon, Kurt Angle and Tarzan Lopez--this counts as one issue if you are asking for a free issue, but orderedseparately, due to size, is $6 in North America and $7 overseas)

*October 4, 2004 (the life and times of Big Bossman; as well as details of the life and times of one of the most influential men worldwide in pro wrestling history, Jim Barnett)

*November 15, 2004 (the full story of what happened between Kurt Angle and Daniel Puder, plus coverage of the most important week in thehistory of TNA)

*January 24, 2005 (2004 Awards issue, Rock and WWE part company)

*March 14, 2005 (the 50 biggest money players in the history of WWF and a look at their Hall of Fame)

*May 9, 2005 (the life and times of Chris Candido)

*June 20, 2005 (The full story behind Paul Heyman and the death of ECW, as well as coverage of One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming and behind the scenes of both shows)

*July 18, 2005 (death of Shinya Hashimoto and his records with a look at the fall of New Japan, the Matt Hardy angle, tons of WWE firings,Cornette firing in detail as well as problems of a WWE developmental territory in our biggest news issue of the year which is adouble-sized issue and would be $6 on its own and $7 overseas)

*January 9, 2006 (The life and times of Superstar Billy Graham, plus New Year's Eve 2005 coverage)

*January 16, 2006 (2005 Awards double issue, $6 or $7 overseas)

*April 3, 2006 (Story of Ann Calvello and the history of Roller Derby--many called this the best issue of the Observer ever)

*April 10, 2006 (Behind the scenes at the 2006 Wrestlemania/Hall of Fame week)

*July 24, 2006 (The History of the Von Erichs and World Class Championship Wrestling--the most unreal story ever in wrestling)

*September 4, 2006 (The Rise and Fall of Kurt Angle; 2006 Hall of Fame inductions of Eddie Guerrero, Paul Bowser, Masakatsu Funaki, Aja Kong and Hiroshi Hase including tons of wrestling history around the world from the 20s through the 60s, the evolution of working to not working in Japan, and a look at Guerrero in hindsight, double issue $6 or $7 overseas)

*October 9, 2006 (A look back nine years later at the life and legacy of Brian Pillman with tons of inside information about what made himtick as his real objectives)

*November 15, 2006 (History of WCW part one, Eric Bischoff's book and how the industry was changed forever)

*November 27, 2006 (History of WCW part three, When Bischoff challenged McMahon to fight; Truth and fiction around Bret Hartsigning with WCW and why it didn't click)

*December 6, 2006 (details behind Pride's offers to sell promotion and Part four of History of WCW part four, Hogan-Goldberg match and why there was no rematch, WCW loses NBC network deal in 1999 and the real reasons the company fell apart)

*August 11, 2008 (Ric Flair leaves WWE; Updated history of pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who went to the Olympics)

* September 8, 2008 (2008 Hall of Fame double issue, $7 on its own, $8 overseas; part one of Killer Kowalski bio)

* September 15, 2008 (Life and Times of Evan Tanner)

* September 22, 2008 (The amazing career of Killer Kowalski, one of our most in-depth bios)

You can also order any of these issues on their own for $4 in North America or $5 overseas.

Rates are:

For the United States, it is $12 for 4 issues, $29 for 12, $55 for 24, $91 for 40 and $118 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $13.50 for4, $33 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to
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. For the rest of the world, rates are $15.50 for 4, $41 for 12, $78 for 24, $126 for 40 issues and $163 for52 .

If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.

We now have available personally autographed copies of Tributes II, our latest book, as well as a DVD that comes with it talking moreabout the subjects in the book. The book covers the life stories of Lou Thesz, Wahoo McDaniel, Elizabeth, Fred Blassie, Road Warrior Hawk,Andre the Giant, Curt Hennig, Johnny Valentine, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Owen Hart, Stu Hart, Gorilla Monsoon, The Sheik and Tim Woods. To get all of those biographies as back issues of the Observer would be a $60 value today. This is a collection of some of the bestObserver articles of the past several years in a hardcover, full-color format that is 239 pages. There is also a foreword by Bret Hart. The bookprice is $12.95 plus $3.50 for shipping costs in the U.S., $10 for shipping costs to Canada and $12 for shipping costs outside NorthAmerica. You can order the book the same way you order the newsletter.

--Randy Orton's suffered a herniated disc between his L-4 and L-5 vertebrae on the left side of his back, but it doesn't sound like his condition is as bad as was feared last night when at the show they talked about him being out for six months. A wwe.com article gave the impression he would be out for several weeks as opposed to several months.

--Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. Epico & Primo for the tag titles was moved from the Raw tour to the Smackdown tour starting last night to make up for Orton not being on the Smackdown show.

--Dana White noted even he's concerned about tomorrow night's show and people forgetting because it's on a Friday, noting when talking with some new sponsors yesterday, he casually said "See you Saturday" at the show. He realized if he naturally thought of the fight being on Saturday, well, it's trouble. While Saturday would clearly be a better night for PPV, it would be difficult to run Las Vegas even though the place will be loaded with tourists. The original idea was New Year's Eve from Abu Dhabi.

--Dana White confirmed that Donald Cerrone made a comment to Nate Diaz along the lines he was taking him apart on Friday before Diaz knocked his cowboy hat off. The two had both downplayed the handshake storyline, and ended up with something else everyone talked about. White jumped in immediately.

--Biggest news story of April

Rock vs. Cena announced as the main event of WrestleMania 28 30.5%

Edge retires 26.1%

UFC draws 55,724 fans and $12 million in Toronto 16.0%

WrestleMania in Atlanta 8.5%

Larry Sweeney passes away 7.4%

WWE drops the moniker World Wrestling Entertainment 2.6%

Undertaker vs. HHH steal the show at Mania 2.3%

Randy Couture retires 2.3%

Scott Half incident in Fall River, MA 2.1%

Charly Manson assaults officer, ends up in jail 1.1%

Tough Enough return 0.6%

Diaz vs. Daley headlines one of the year's best shows 0.5%

--Who do you expect to win this fight

Donald Cerrone 68.5%

Nate Diaz 31.5%

--What are your plans for Friday

Watching UFC 141 56.1%

Watching Smackdown 39.8%

Watching the Japanese New Year's Eve show 20.1%

That latter figure should make HDNet really happy. 42% of those watching Smackdown say they are also watching UFC 141. Of those watching the Japanese show, to no surprise, 78% say they are watching UFC 141. Of those watching UFC 141, 30% say they are also watching Smackdown while 28% say they are also watching the Dream show.

--To show the extent of the UFC feud with Spike, tonight's Countdown show airing on Spike is not listed on the UFC web site, and tomorrow's prelims on the UFC web site are listed only as "Live on TV" with no mention of where to see them. The Spike web site does list the UFC prelims tomorrow. (thanks to J.T. Burnett)

--Chuck Langerman's daily wrestling trivia concerns Barry Horowitz, one of the best-known job guys in WWF history. Horowitz wrestled at Florida State University, which played into one of his characters, Jack "The Stretcher" Hart. He also wrestled under the name Bret Hart in the Carolinas, which was confusing at the time. In fact, because the Carolinas TV, where he was Bret Hart, played in Toronto since that was essentially part of the Mid-Atlantic circuit, when Calgary's Bret Hart was brought to Toronto, he had to use the name "Buddy the Hearthrob Hart," a name he's probably wanted to forget for sometime. Barry Horowitz after college was trained by Boris Malenko in Tampa. He now runs a sports nutrition business called Vitamin Discount Center and still, at 52, occasionally wrestles.

--A lot of newspapers today did notable deaths of the year and such. Yahoo.com and the Chicago Sun-Times in listing notable sports deaths mentioned Randy Savage. The Sydney Morning Herald,which listed Killer Karl Kox as one of the most notable deaths of the year, not limited to just sports, last week, ran a Kox obituary in this morning's paper (thanks to James Stanios, Mark Schreiner, Graeme Cameron and many others)

--WWE announced today that the name Capitol Punishment as a show for next year is being replaced by the return of the legendary PPV--Bragging Rights. You mean December to Dismember wasn't available? It's scheduled for 6/17 and will be on the WWE Network.

--Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the final episode of Portland Wrestling, which had its final episode on December 28, 1991, when KPTV decided to replace it with WWE due to not having any production costs. While Don Owen's Portland Wrestling was already on its last legs, and did continue for a few months, it was really the main thing that ended the promotion as they weren't able to get on a broadcast outlet. Portland Wrestling debuted in 1953, so it ran for 38 years, making it one of the longest running weekly episodic television shows in the history of U.S. television. How Raw, which has run from 1993 to 2001, or almost 19 years, is the longest is something somebody else would have to give a cogent answer to, but if you didn't know, WWE doesn't consider pro wrestling shows in that category.

--Sunday will be the 30th anniversary of the final wrestling show ever promoted by Sam Muchnick.

--John Corrigan of the Temple News College Magazine at
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is looking to hear from long-time attendees of pro wrestling events at the old ECW Arena for a story they are doing on wrestling being finished in the building in a few weeks.

--The web site ComicBookResources.com said that it looks like C.M. Punk and artist Jill Thompson may work together on a comic book. Thompson was the illustrator for a children's book Mick Foley wrote many years ago.

--Kurt Angle promoting the TNA show tonight in Albany, NY at http://blogs.timesunion.com Angle described himself as a part-time pro wrestler preparing for the Olympics. He claimed he would return to full-time wrestling if he doesn't make the Olympic team. He talks about what he'll do if he does make the team, but let's get serious.

--ECWA on 1/7 in Newark, DE at the Greater Newark Boys and Girls Club is headlined by Papadon vs. Alex Reynolds for the ECWA title.

--A benefit show for Chris Michaels was announced for 1/8 in LaVegne, TN at the HWA Arena. Michaels suffered a detached retina in one eye and his other eye needs laser surgery due to a recent injury. This is possibly, if not likely, the end of his career. Among those scheduled for the show are Chase Stevens, Wolfie D, Jeff Daniels, L.T. Falk, Bryan Casey and others with tickets $6 each and kids under 5 free.

--FSW runs tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Pacific on www.gfl.tv They also have a live show on 1/8 at Sam's Town Casino and Gambling Hall in Las Vegas with Val Venis, Chuck Palumbo, Michael Modest, Johnny the Bull, Kenny King, Brandon Gatson and more.

--The latest pro wrestler trying to hook up with MMA is Diamond Dallas Page. Page is a little old to want to fight, but he is trying to expand his yoga brand into MMA training. "I truly believe this workout will revolutionize how fighters train for fights, and even how those that train MMA, but don't compete, work out. And with Crossfire Media Group helping us make that introduction, I'm sure we're going to be successful in taking DDPYoga to another level."